Saewine of Djurby

Saewine of Djurby (856-) was the Viking king of Djurby during the late 9th century.

Biogrpahy
Saewine was born in 856 to a family of pagan Danes, and he became a Viking and took part in the Viking invasions of England. By 878, he had created a petty kingdom for himself at Djurby (present-day Derby, Derbyshire, England). Rather than content himself with his limited gains, the xenophobic and untrustworthy Saewine pursued an aggressive expansionist policy, conquering much of the Midlands from rival Danish rulers and the Mercians. In around 885 AD, he sent an envoy to King Alfred the Great of Wessex offering a non-aggression pact, as he sought to secure his southern border against the powerful Anglo-Saxon king. While Alfred could ill-afford another war in the north, especially against the might of Djurby, he rejected Saewine's offer, fearing that Saewine would take advantage of the pact to prepare an invasion of Wessex should Alfred and his fyrd move against East Engle and leave the Midlands open to the Vikings of Djurby. As the Welsh Rebellion came to a close, however, King Alfred soon became interested in an arrangement with Djurby to allow for him to crush Guthrum's kingdom in East Anglia.